e-Cigarettes for safe smoking

3 November, 2007

Smokeless cigarettes are creating a
rage in London. A British pub,
Chinawhite in Soho, is trying out
Britain's first e-cig, which
incidentally is a China-made device
that fakes smoking. The six-inch white
plastic stick uses a battery-powered
atomizer to create realistic puffs of
smoke, while the tip glows red with
each suck. And that isnít all. The
smoker gets a strong kick of nicotine
from a nico-filter cartridge. The
filter will provide enough nicotine
for about 350 puffs, equivalent to
about 30 cigarettes, said a report.

Manufactured by the Golden Dragon
Group, a Chinese company, a £50
starter pack includes the cigarette,
one filter and a recharger for the
battery. Replacement packs of six
filters cost £10 each, the report
said.

Said to have no side effects as there
is no smoke or tar, the device is
being tried out by the London pub to
see if its members are really positive
about the whole experiment.

People who tried it once are in fact
asking for a second round, said the
report. As one of the clients pointed
out, it is elegant and easy to hold
and it doesn't make the smokerís hands
smell like a cigarette does.

While some certify that the e-Cig
tastes like apple tobacco, some
expressed reluctance saying that the
device was a bit too feminine for a
man to use.

Though the price tag might be a put
off, the feel of nicotine and the zero
side effects are sure to make the
e-Cig a success, feel many.

Explaining how the device works,
experts said that it delivers a dose
of nicotine equivalent to a strong
nicotine patch. However, the device
has been criticized in China for
containing 18mg of nicotine compared
with 1.2mg for a typical cigarette.
However, the makers write the ridicule
off saying that it would take much
longer to get through one filter than
a cigarette.